Demon Sword Maiden

Vast was the world, and long stretched the river of history. Female adepts were always scarce, yet they differed from ordinary women. They were unbound by worldly gazes and would not accept the prejudices society cast upon women.

In patriarchal feudal societies such as the Heian Dynasty and the Nara Dynasty, women’s status was always low.

Wealthy men had three wives and four concubines. Because of years of turmoil and war, able-bodied men were scarce, and women’s status, even among commoners, was exceedingly low.

But female adepts were not like this. By stepping onto the path of advancement, they practiced secret arts better suited to women, hunted demons, and roamed the world with sword in hand. They studied the profound secret methods derived from Takamagahara, and those suited to practice often possessed beauty. Through their training, they could preserve eternal youth, enhancing their allure, while their strength was by no means inferior to men’s. These women, in any era, carved out their own sky, striving no less than men to pursue the summit of the Great Path.

For female adepts, their hunger for strength, secret arts, treasures, and realms often surpassed that of men. Without such determination, how could they abandon the so-called happiness of ordinary women, only to walk this path that even men tread at the cost of life and death, a path full of peril?

For male adepts, failure still left behind the spirit of a warrior. That was no empty title. True warriors, once they died, could become heroic spirits. Even if not, they could still be valued in Yomi-no-kuni, allowed to practice anew as phantom warriors.

But for women, failure meant the world’s misunderstanding, its mockery, and the endless humiliation inflicted upon both body and soul. Even if they sought to prove their resolve through death, would death truly end it all?

No.

They would be cast into the Female Punishment Hells, suffering endless torment and degradation. While ordinary women reincarnated freely, these female adepts could not be reborn for thousands of years. Those strong enough to possess the Permanence Spirit might rebuild their bodies in Yomi, yet in the Punishment Hells, to have flesh was only to be better prey for the fiends and judges. It gave them no relief, only deeper agony.

The path of advancement itself was one of defiance. For men, to practice was already to go against the heavens.

For women, it was defiance of two cosmic truths: the divide between man and god, and the divide between male and female. For a woman to insist on becoming stronger than men was also to go against the heavens. Once they failed, the punishment they suffered was far harsher, far heavier.

1

In such a dark and turbulent age, when a beautiful woman refused to marry, to rely on the powerful, to bear children and become a pawn of politics, and instead chose to practice, she naturally had to pay a price incomprehensible to others, and endure pain and dangers ordinary people could never withstand.

And yet, throughout the dynasties, there were always a few women, born with a different vision, who stepped onto this path.

Even if the world could not understand, even if the heavens forbade it, they themselves believed. They walked forward with no hesitation, no regret, unafraid of life and death, regardless of the cost.

Taira no Furaku was one of them.

Looking back thousands of years into the history of the Nara Dynasty, her name was barely known. Even her family name, whether it bore any relation to the present-day Taira clan, was difficult to verify.

In that dark era of fractured history, in that dynasty doomed to fall, Furaku had been a great female warrior of early Nara, who roamed Kawachi Province and Yamashiro Province.

If in later times there was Ayaka, or Yoshitsune whose power swept all before him, then in her own age, Furaku was an unmatched genius.

At only twenty-six, she had attained the power of the Septuple-soul Big Dipper, a realm no one else of that age could reach. Yet Furaku was a woman of extreme humility. Though undefeated since her first step upon the path, she did not seek out the famous grandmasters of her day, nor did she serve the court or great powers. To one already invincible, such things were but fleeting clouds. Her vision had already transcended the human world.

Yet fate was cruel. Though Furaku’s talent was peerless, fortune seemed to elude her. When she attempted to cross the Heavenly Gate, she failed.

And fell into Yomi.

A Septuple-soul Big Dipper adept might reign unchallenged in the Nara Dynasty, but in Yomi she was only of middling rank. Worse still, Furaku was tall, strikingly beautiful, and carried an extraordinary aura. Immediately, she became a prize for countless demons to fight over.

In the end, amidst that brutal struggle, the dominator of the Hekiraku Realm—Lord Shikikai—claimed her.

What did this signify for a proud female adept like Furaku? Was it ruin? Was it endless shame? She had already fallen into Yomi, what purpose would there be in throwing her life away for the sake of so-called dignity? It was then that Furaku grasped a truth most women never would.

If she still measured herself by the pride and dignity of being a woman, then her fate was already sealed. She would already be defeated, reduced to nothing more than a demon lord’s concubine.

But did that mean her path of advancement had reached its end? Simply because she had become the woman of a demon lord, did it mean she could never again pursue practice? Did it mean there was no chance, however slim, of one day surpassing Lord Shikikai himself, the very existence she was now powerless against?

For an adept, what meaning was there in clinging to notions of gender? Was it truly worth weighing whether one was revered as a beauty among beauties, or merely acknowledged as the wife of a lord? For an adept, strength alone was the only foundation.

Furaku chose to live on with strength. With her insight, talent, and charm, she won the singular favor of Lord Shikikai, who possessed countless women. Unlike the others, she asked not for jewels or luxuries, but only for resources to continue her practice. She willingly assisted him in managing his vast affairs.

Lord Shikikai indulged himself endlessly with women, so he left much in Furaku’s hands. Through this, she gradually gained real power and quietly diverted immense resources for herself.

Though the lord had seen through countless women, he turned a blind eye, even finding her unique. She was unlike ordinary women, possessed of a rare charm. His fondness for her only deepened. Though his way of loving a woman was nothing that could bring Furaku happiness or tenderness, it did secure her place.

As Furaku’s strength grew, she outshone the other women competing for favor, eventually becoming his primary wife. Her feelings toward him were complex. She had already abandoned her selfhood, dedicating everything to relentless practice. She did not mind his debauchery with other women. And as his principal wife, she still received a measure of respect. Over thousands of years, a deep bond grew between them.

Among his women, many had yielded only under his power, but the only one who held genuine feeling for him was Furaku. In turn, he treated her wholly differently, truly acknowledging her as his wife.

Thus, while the lord continued to ravage women across the lands, Furaku devoted herself to practice. One seclusion could last decades.

But when at last she emerged from such a retreat, Lord Shikikai had been slain.

To avenge her lord? That would be underestimating Taira no Furaku. Indeed, she held some feelings for him, but those feelings had been born out of coercion and humiliation in the past. Deep within, Furaku felt conflicted about them.

For her, ever since becoming the lord’s woman, she had clung even more firmly to her own life, pursuing the path of advancement. Such fleeting emotions were not enough to make her abandon anything. Rather, she sought to turn them into leverage.

The foe capable of defeating her lord was not someone she herself could likely overcome. Yet her lord had possessed far more treasures than she, and all of them had fallen into the enemy’s hands. So she forged an agreement with Takamagahara: they would aid her in vanquishing the foe and retrieving her husband’s “relics.” Outwardly, it was called vengeance, painting her as a devoted wife in Takamagahara’s eyes. But in truth, the greater purpose was to reclaim those treasures. Of course, avenging the man was not unwelcome, it was a fitting repayment for the countless resources she had drained from him over the millennia.

As long as it furthered her advancement, Furaku had long since discarded all scruples and resorted to any means necessary.

If now Ame-no-Tajikarao could help her ascend even higher, and if he fancied her, then remarriage would mean little.

At this moment, however, Furaku’s attention had shifted toward the young woman under her control.

She herself had practiced for thousands of years before becoming a Supreme God. Though her rise was built on humiliation and rare, unrepeatable opportunities, her legendary life still testified to her extraordinary talent. Across the Three Realms, she counted as a rare female genius.

Yet this young girl, at only twenty years of age, had already reached the upper ranks of the Celestial Stage. Such a feat was nothing short of heaven-defying.

Could anyone believe she had no secrets? Furaku certainly did not. And could those secrets perhaps be turned to her own use? After a brief moment of contemplation, Furaku began probing Lily’s body with both hands as she thought.

“What are you doing? Don’t touch me!” Lily exclaimed in indignation.

“Relax. I won’t do anything improper. I’m only searching your body. A woman like you, with such extraordinary tricks, might well have hidden a weapon where no one would imagine,” Furaku replied.

“Hmph! Demoness, you’re nothing but a shameless harlot! What excuses you make! When I was captured, do you think those Dark Celestial Maidens failed to search me? I had prepared many treasures, weapons, and hidden arms, but all were taken by them. Otherwise, I’d gladly let you taste them now!” Lily continued to feign the haughty, unreasonable airs of a pampered young lady, though her current plight hardly matched such dignity.

Though Lily felt humiliated at being frisked, her worry was not that Furaku might discover anything hidden, but rather her disgust at this woman’s touch.

Before infiltrating, Lily had already accounted for such risks.

To infiltrate meant one might be captured; indeed, being captured was part of her plan. Yet capture almost inevitably meant being searched. Lily had thought it through clearly: if searched by a Heroic God, she could endure a normal inspection. But if they attempted a thorough search, she would have to declare her plan a failure and fight to the death.

If searched by a woman, however, she could let them rummage as they pleased. She had already prepared a set of Celestial stage treasures, placed inside her storage bangle, ready to be discovered.

Her true treasures, however, were hidden within the mirror.

The only thing that was difficult to conceal, naturally, was the mirror.

But this problem was one Rinne had already solved for her, teaching her a way to keep the mirror hidden.

Footnotes:

Dang… did the author really go all philosophical with us~?